Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 49 - A Travel Request (Patreon)

Arngrim studied Einar and frowned.

“They tell me you died, and yet… I don’t sense any changes in your slot power.  How is this possible?”

Einar sighed and pulled his tunic over, watching as the man twisted a stick in his beard. He wasn’t ready to share everything about the rune and how it worked.  In time, he might with Arngrim, but for now, he wanted to err on the side of caution.

“You’re going to think I’m crazy, but when I died, I saw a Valkyrie, and I also think…” Einar paused, glancing around the courtyard, knowing no one was close enough to hear. “I think Thor might have been there.”

The rune crafter’s eyes went wide in a split second, and his hand froze on the stick he had been twisting.

“They said something about a brave death if I can recall… I was naked on stone tiles in a hallway by myself.  After that, I ended up with the rest, naked and a pile of leather armor tossed on my junk.”

Arngrim began to cough, wanting to laugh and yet struggling to deal with the knowledge that Einar had now met Odin, Thor, and a Valkyrie if what he said was true.  Seeing that there was no degradation in the boy’s rune slots had puzzled him till this moment.

“You cannot tell anyone,” the man hissed.  “They would be… jealous, and things would become dangerous.  Some might try to promote you as a herald, and that would attract the attention of the king.”

Einar nodded and pointed at the group of men doing one of the workouts he had designed to help overcome some of their loss of stats.

“I’m going to do those with them.  Trust me, I know.  Listening to a few of them break down when they lost their runes was hard.”

Einar shifted and leaned around the rune crafter to stare at the expansive building that housed Jarl Bior.

“Tell me, how did things go with him?”

Stretching and groaning, the man motioned for them to walk as they talked.

“The Jarl is very excited to have me here.  He hasn’t even bothered to ask my name, simply accepting me as Arn.”

“And you made a rune already, I heard.”

“Two, but we won’t talk about that.  He wanted proof, and I needed more money to live where I wanted.  I’ve got a private shed on his property and don’t have to do anything.  Food comes when I want it. Someone cleans and takes care of things.  Best of all, I have a workshop inside the building with a vault.  No one will get anything from there without causing enough noise to bring Bior’s personal warriors.”

The grin on Arngrim’s face left no doubt that he had managed to secure a deal good enough to do what Bior wanted.

“What about my rune?”

As quickly as that question was asked, the grin was gone, replaced by a pair of squinted eyebrows and a frown.

“You’re really trying to upset me, aren’t you?”

Chuckling, Einar nodded and tapped his head.  

“You know what I want.  The rune is worth it, and we both know it.”

“Bah! You think it will be worth it.  Again, once word gets out you have one, the price of everything is going to shoot through the roof, and worst yet will be the mage’s guild looking to see who sold a warrior such a rune! You have no idea what is about to befall this kingdom.”

“I think I have a better idea than most,” Einar replied. “The portals have increased in frequency, and if I’m right, it was when Odin talked to me.”

The sound of air rushing through the older man’s teeth did little to hide the painful look on the rune crafter’s face.

“If what I’ve learned is true, there may be more. Something is going to happen, and I doubt we have twenty years to prepare for it.”

Scanning the courtyard, Einar lowered his voice.

“Ragnarök is coming.”

Arngrim’s face contorted again. This time, the man’s cheeks sagged, and he sighed.

“I’m afraid you're right,” he replied. “I need one more item, and it comes from the dwarves of Nidavellir.  We’ll pay a pretty penny for what you want, and I’ve already talked to Bior about acquiring it.  Do you want me to blow smoke up your ass or just go ahead and kick your nuts?”

Having spent a lifetime hearing that question a different way, Einar sighed.

“Just go ahead and give me the kick to the balls.”

Snorting, the rune crafter nodded.

“We’re going to have to travel there, and that requires us going to the capital.  Bior already has agreed to let that happen, but we need to go and do this soon.  From what I understand, there will be a convoy from the dwarves there in two weeks.  It will take us a week to travel there if nothing goes wrong.”

“You’re talking about taking a ship?”

“With a wind mage, yes.  That’s the really painful part.  It’s going to cost us about twenty gold, maybe thirty, to pay for the whole ship since we aren’t bringing any goods to trade and sell or allowing anyone else to ride with us.  If you had something worth moving, we could try to offset the cost.”

Rubbing his cheek with a hand, Einar was glad to feel a little hair against his calloused fingers.  

“No… Speed is important, and I don’t want to have to explain why we are searching for a lot of goods.  How soon can you leave?”

“Me?” replied Arngrim with a grin. “I can leave whenever.  You, on the other hand, must talk to your jarl and get permission first.  No one cares if you defeated a portal crystal.  Until you own your own pack or warband and are enlisted in the service of Bior, you must always ask for permission.”

Nodding, Einar gave the older man a gentle thump on his shoulder and then motioned to the estate where the jarl did his business.

“Then I’m off to see Bior.  Be a good friend and get my stuff ready for me?”

Rolling his eyes, Arngrim made the finger and circle hand gesture, laughing like a goat when Einar didn’t respond and just kept walking away.

***

The hall was vast, and the line was long, yet Einar waited patiently in the hallway.

Many came each day to ask for help solving a problem or to request something from the jarl’s courts.  Today was the one day every two weeks anyone could request the jarl to hear their petition himself.  Even with the knowledge that if their request was most likely going to be denied, they sought to change that outcome by telling a story or shedding tears.  

“You’re certain you want to keep waiting?”

Einar nodded at the housecarls.  One of the elite guards stood nearby, watching the crowds.  Further ahead, some men checked each person for weapons, securing them and offering them back once their visit was done.

As an armband wearer, he was allowed to keep one axe and his knife on him.

“Gruondo, tell me, how long have you been in service for the jarl?”

The guard took a deep breath and stared up at the worked stone ceiling for a moment.

His massive body, covered in chain armor, still showed hidden power underneath it.  If he had a face tattoo, Einar believed the man must have eight tattoos, but without one, the shaved sides of his head and the blond hair braided back tightly let his blue eyes sparkle in the light of torches and lanterns hanging on the walls.

“Fifteen or more years.  I haven’t raided in a long time.  I can’t earn honor like you did, Thegn Einar.”

The mention of his title was a point of respect, and he gave a slight nod of his head for receiving it. They knew he had recently been given that title, and having done what he did with the portal, everyone who might have doubted an eighteen-year-old having earned it stopped.

“I’m sure the time will come when everyone has a chance to fight again.  Something is changing, and we all know it.”

Gruondo grunted, and with his deep voice, it sounded almost like a growl.

“Things are bleak, but that is for you and the other Vikings to deal with.  If it reaches my doorstep, we will cut down whatever comes our way.”

Pounding his chest once, Einar nodded and watched as the guard began to move along, leaving him to watch the line that seemed to have no end.

***

“I hear you waited almost six hours,” Bior said as he sat on the chair in the hallway.  “I can only wonder what might be worthy of a thegns time that they would wait.”

Einar nodded, having done a full sweep around the hall.

Columns ran up to a stone ceiling that was vaulted, and light spilled in through windows on both sides.  They were open, letting air and sunlight spill in.  Guards were stationed at each of the corners of the room, and though none of them appeared to be listening, Einar knew that wasn’t true.  Each was poised, ready to react if there was a threat to the man they swore an oath to.

A special armband adorned each of their muscular arms, and a gold, iron, and silver band twisted together with two axes crossed and an insignia of a boar on it.  A sign they were housecarls.

“I wanted to ask for permission to escort an older friend to the capital.  He said it would take about a week or so to get there via ship and then return after he finishes some business.  I mentioned the ability to hire other warriors, but he called upon the honor of my village, so I told him I would speak to you.”

Bior nodded slowly, stroking his blond beard for a few moments.

As the two of them said nothing, the sound from outside and city life seeped in through the windows, reminding everyone there was a world right outside the stone walls.

“Honor is important, and so is helping an old friend.  I would have to reduce your wages while you are gone.  Are you okay with that?”

Doing his best to not smile, Einar nodded and gave a bow.

“I would be more than willing to accept that to pay a debt to him.”

“Very well,” Bior replied, motioning to a man who almost seemed to blend into a shadow near a pillar.  “Note that I have given Thegn Einar Sibbison leave for up to one month.  No payment shall be earned during that time for his services.”

“Yes, Jarl,” the man replied while writing in the notebook he opened a second ago.  The man’s pencil began to move and then froze.

“Excuse me, Jarl Bior, is this the warrior who rumor has said entered a portal and broke the stone?”

Einar saw the man’s eyes widen at realizing who was standing before Bior, and a shifting of movement came from those in the room.

“It is. I still need to meet with him and discuss what he saw.  Would now be a good time to record that Bui?”

“Oh yes!” the man exclaimed, moving a little closer to where Einar was standing.  He flipped the book over toward the end and then nodded at the young Viking before him.

“If you wouldn’t mind, please describe in detail what you saw and experienced while over there Thegn Einar.”

Nodding, he began with how it felt when he entered and went from there.

***

Bui closed his book and smiled, giving a nod to the jarl, who had remained silent other than two small questions.

“As always, I am grateful to serve you and this city,” Einar said, bowing once more.

“Travel safe, and may I hear that your trip was a restful time for both you and your friend,” Bior replied with a simple nod.

Turning, Einar strode toward the exit, walking across the long row of worn stones and wondering how many men and women before him had left here, happy to have gotten what they asked for.